Referencing procedure for location of lumbosacral alpha-motoneurons

This report presents a simple referencing procedure to facilitate microelectrode positioning within a desired motor nucleus in the cat spinal cord. The procedure is used in conjunction with the conventional technique of interpreting microelectrode position in the ventral gray column on the basis of the relative amplitude of antidromically or orthodromically evoked field potentials from select motor nuclei. The procedure optimizes the use of a single surface anatomical landmark such that the nuclei can be quantitatively referenced both horizontally and sagitally.